What is a Good Supplementary Book for Topology Beyond Theorem, Proof?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on finding supplementary books for a topology course, specifically seeking resources that provide more motivation and explanation beyond the standard theorem-proof format. Participants express a desire for texts that connect topology to analysis and its applications.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant is looking for a supplementary text to Gamelin and Greene's "Introduction to Topology" that offers more motivation and explanation.
  • Another participant suggests exploring the American Mathematical Society's open math notes for various topics in topology.
  • Some participants emphasize the importance of finding texts that relate topology to analysis, rather than focusing solely on general topology.
  • A suggestion is made to consider measure theory and sigma-algebras as relevant topics for those interested in the application of topology to analysis.
  • One participant proposes reading "Geometry and the Imagination" by Hilbert and Cohn-Vossen or "What is Mathematics?" by Courant for intuition about topology.
  • Another participant mentions John Kelley's "General Topology" as being particularly aimed at analysis students, suggesting it may be a suitable resource.
  • Examples are provided illustrating how topology can be applied in analysis, such as the Intermediate Value Theorem and its implications for polynomial roots.
  • A recommendation is made for Munkres' topology book, which is popular among readers seeking a comprehensive understanding of the subject.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a variety of preferences for supplementary materials, with no consensus on a single recommended text. There are multiple competing views on what constitutes a suitable resource for connecting topology to analysis.

Contextual Notes

Some participants note that the scope of topology is broad, and the relevance of specific texts may depend on individual interests and the particular areas of analysis being pursued.

Who May Find This Useful

Students and educators in mathematics, particularly those interested in topology and its applications to analysis, may find this discussion useful for identifying supplementary resources.

mr.tea
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I am taking a course in topology with Gamelin and Greene, Introduction to topology. I would like to have some supplement to extend and give more motivation and explanation. I am quite tired of the "theorem, proof, theorem, proof" pattern.

Thank you!
 
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mr.tea said:
Thanks for the links.
I am looking for a text which, as Gamelin and Green, tends more towards analysis and its application than just general topology.

Thank you again.
In this case, you should look for measure theory and sigma-algebras.
 
to get some intuition for topology i was going to suggest to you to read some of hilbert and cohn vossen's geometry and the imagination, or courant's what is mathematics. but after what you said last i am puzzled as to what you want exactly. john kelley famously said he was originally wanting to title his General Topology, as "what every young analyst should know". i.e. although called general topology it is aimed exactly at analysis students. so i suggest you go to a university math library and sit in the topology section and see what book has what you want. topology is useful in analysis because it gives you easy methods that allow you to deduce at least qualitative results about analysis. the first example is the intermediate value theorem, which let's you prove that every real polynomial of odd degree has a real root without being able to find one exactly. i.e. topology tells you that if f(a) < 0 and f(b) >0 and f is continuous on [a,b] then there is a point c somewhere in (a,b) with f(c) = 0. (In fact if you weight the roots by their multiplicities you can prove there is an odd [weighted] number [or an infinite number] of roots.) In complex analysis topology let's you prove every polynomial f:C-->C on the complex plane has a complex root, since it extends to a map of the projective line to itself which is both open and closed, hence surjective, but only infinity goes to infinity, hence as a map C--->C it is surjective. when trying to solve the riemann roch problem of computing the number of independent meromorphic functions on a compact riemann surface with given pole divisor, one tweaks it by asking instead for the difference between that number and the number of independent holomorphic differentials with zeroes along that divisor. This difference turns out to be a topological invariant and hence can be calculated by degeneration to a special case. these techniques even can be jazzed up to prove such high powered theorems as the atiyah singer index theorem. so topology is the art of deforming your problem, and it is useful for computations after determining which aspects of your problem remain unchanged after deformation. you may have heard that it is possible to "evert a sphere" or turn a sphere in space inside out without introducing a kink. This is proved by showing the space of all immersions of the sphere is "connected" (a topological concept), hence there is a path of immersions joining the usual immersion to the antipodal one.well on amazon, most people seem to recommend munkres:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/9332549532/?tag=pfamazon01-20
 
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